Got Spyware? Integrated Approach Is Key

And solution providers say they're seeing the need for perimeter security devices that protect against spyware as well as other threats go through the roof. "We're seeing administrators and IT directors say they don't have the time to deal with point solutions for this kind of thing," said Hayes Drumwright, CEO of Trace3, Irvine, Calif. "These days, antispyware on an integrated platform is pretty much all they want to talk about."

This trend did not develop without warning. Across the industry, spyware has risen steadily since January—a recent study co-sponsored by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance indicated that eight out of 10 computers are infected by some form of spyware. Then came innovation in the form of point solutions. Earlier this month, Computer Associates International and McAfee each released spyware-specific solutions for enterprises and consumers.

Finally, it appears that vendors of integrated appliances have caught on. Today, vendors such as Secure Computing and Internet Security Systems, which have incorporated firewall, VPN and antivirus capability into one box for years, are now adding new capabilities to fight adware, keystroke loggers and other forms of malware.

"As a network administrator, you don't want this conga line of boxes that you have to manage," said Richard Hanke, vice president of product management at Fortinet, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company credited with inventing the integrated security appliance. "Just as it made sense to incorporate a number of other security functions into one box, it just makes sense to add antispyware capabilities as well."

While Fortinet is relatively new to the antispyware movement, fellow Silicon Valley vendor BlueCoat has been incorporating spyware protection in its ProxyAV device for years. Steven Palange, president of security solution provider TLIC Worldwide, Wakefield, R.I., hailed this appliance as the "best tool" to fight spyware at the gateway.

Palange doesn't even participate in the BlueCoat channel but extols the virtues of the vendor's solution. Today, the solution provider peddles point antispyware products from CA and McAfee, but says he plans to start looking to sell an integrated appliance with antispyware capabilities, too. "Appliances that help fight this stuff are going to be the next killer app in the security industry," he said.

Still, not every solution provider is exactly jazzed about the expansion of integrated devices to include spyware protection.

David Sockol, president of Emagined Security, San Carlos, Calif., said that while many vendors boast about having antispyware capabilities in their integrated appliances, none offer a solution that stops the threats cold. "It's good that people are taking this stuff seriously, but most vendors still have still got a long way to come before they can consider a system worthwhile," said Sockol. "The trouble with spyware is that unless a user takes specific action to remove it, it could stick around forever."

Few solution providers dispute Sockol's concern, but many say that an effort to stop spyware at the gateway will help eliminate the need for removal down the road. Betsi Shepherd, director of marketing at Encore Software, Los Angeles, said that with integrated devices tackling spyware, at the very least solution providers will be able to guarantee their customers peace of mind. "Some stand-alone solutions don't work well together and can actually cause the programs to become ineffective," she said. Aside from out-of-the-box functionality, "there are significant benefits to an all-in-one security solution."